Surah 25 · Makkah · 77 āyāt

Phase 02 · Going public — and the persecution(c. 10–8 BH) — view in timeline

Al-FurqānThe Criterion

الفرقان

A Makkan surah revealed amid intensifying mockery of the Prophet ﷺ and the Qur'an itself. It opens by naming the revelation al-Furqān — the Criterion that distinguishes truth from falsehood — then answers, one by one, the objections Quraysh raised against him: that he eats food and walks in the markets, that no angel was sent with him, that he has no treasure or garden. It moves through the fate of nations who rejected earlier messengers, a vivid scene of the Day of Judgement when false gods disown their worshippers, signs in creation, and closes with the celebrated description of ʿibād al-Raḥmān — the servants of the Most Merciful — whose humility, night prayer, moderation and repentance model what the Criterion produces in a life.

Why it was revealed

Quraysh leaders, unable to refute the Qur'an, shifted to ridiculing the Messenger ﷺ personally — objecting that a true messenger would not eat food or walk in the markets like ordinary men, and demanding an angel be sent down or treasure be given to him instead.

Drawn fromal-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 25:7; Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 25:7–8; Ibn Kathīr on 25:20; Ibn Kathīr on 25:63–77; Ibn Kathīr on 25:7–8; Ibn Kathīr, opening of Tafsīr Sūrat al-Furqān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 25:7–8, citing the wording of the objection in the āyah

Ibn Kathīr records that the mushrikūn said, as quoted in the surah itself, 'What is this messenger who eats food and walks in the markets? Why has not an angel been sent down to him to be a warner with him? Or why is not a treasure presented to him, or does he [not] have a garden from which he eats?' Allah answered that every messenger before him had likewise eaten food and walked in the markets (25:20), and that even if he had a garden of gold it would not have proven his message — the proof is the revelation itself.

Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 25:7–8, citing the wording of the objection in the āyah; al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 25:7

In the Prophet's ﷺ life

Lossc. 6–4 BH · Age c. 47–49 · Makkah

Quraysh mock his humanity

Rather than engage the Qur'an's argument, the chiefs of Makkah mocked the Prophet ﷺ for being an ordinary man who ate and traded in the market, as if a messenger ought to be superhuman.

Recalled in āyah 7, 8

وَقَالُوا۟ مَالِ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّسُولِ يَأْكُلُ ٱلطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشِى فِى ٱلْأَسْوَاقِ ۙ لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ فَيَكُونَ مَعَهُۥ نَذِيرًا

And they say, "What is this messenger that eats food and walks in the markets? Why was there not sent down to him an angel so he would be with him a warner?

  • Madd — 2 vowels
  • Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
  • Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
  • Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
  • Ghunnah — 2 vowels
  • Qalqalah
  • Ikhfāʾ
  • Ikhfāʾ shafawī
  • Idghām shafawī
  • Idghām with ghunnah
  • Idghām without ghunnah
  • Idghām mutajānisayn
  • Idghām mutaqāribayn
  • Iqlāb
  • Hamzat al-waṣl
  • Lām shamsiyyah
  • Silent letter

Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).

THEME 01Āyāt 1–20

Al-Furqān: a Criterion sent to all the worlds

The surah opens by blessing Allah who sent down the Criterion upon His servant as a warner to all peoples, not the Arabs alone. It then dismantles the false gods worshipped besides Him — they create nothing, possess no power over harm or benefit, and cannot even control death or resurrection — before turning to the specific objections raised against the Messenger ﷺ himself.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 25:20; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

1

تَبَارَكَ ٱلَّذِى نَزَّلَ ٱلْفُرْقَانَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِۦ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَـٰلَمِينَ نَذِيرًا

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Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His Servant that he may be to the worlds a warner -

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7

وَقَالُوا۟ مَالِ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّسُولِ يَأْكُلُ ٱلطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشِى فِى ٱلْأَسْوَاقِ ۙ لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ فَيَكُونَ مَعَهُۥ نَذِيرًا

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And they say, "What is this messenger that eats food and walks in the markets? Why was there not sent down to him an angel so he would be with him a warner?

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20

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلَّآ إِنَّهُمْ لَيَأْكُلُونَ ٱلطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشُونَ فِى ٱلْأَسْوَاقِ ۗ وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً أَتَصْبِرُونَ ۗ وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ بَصِيرًا

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And We did not send before you, [O Muḥammad], any of the messengers except that they ate food and walked in the markets. And We have made some of you [people] as trial for others - will you have patience? And ever is your Lord, Seeing.

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From the tafsīr

Al-Furqān is the Qur'an, named so because it distinguishes truth from falsehood, guidance from misguidance, and the lawful from the unlawful. That it was sent 'upon His servant' (ʿalā ʿabdihi) honours Muhammad ﷺ with the title of servanthood at the very moment of his highest station.

Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

Naḏīran lil-ʿālamīn shows the universality of his message — unlike earlier messengers sent to their own peoples, he ﷺ was sent as a warner to all worlds, jinn and mankind alike.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān

The response to 'why does he eat food and walk in the markets' is that this was the unbroken practice of every messenger before him — the objection proves nothing except the objectors' ignorance of prophetic history.

Cited toAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 25:20

Key takeaways

  • The Qur'an's defining function named in its own text is furqān — separating truth from falsehood, not merely informing.

    Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 25:20; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

  • A warner sent to 'all the worlds' cannot be measured by a single people's expectations of what a messenger should look like.

    Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 25:20; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

  • Every objection raised against the Messenger ﷺ had already been raised, and answered, against earlier prophets.

    Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 25:20; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

Reflect

Where in your own life do you expect proof to look spectacular rather than recognising it in what is plainly given?

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Question 1 of 2

What response does āyah 20 give to the taunt about him eating and trading?

Question 2 of 2

According to āyah 1, what does naming the revelation al-Furqān indicate?

THEME 02Āyāt 7–14

Objections to the Messenger: angel, treasure, garden

Quraysh's specific complaints are quoted directly in the text: why does he eat and trade like other men, why was no angel sent with him as a co-warner, why was no treasure or private garden given to him. Allah calls these the words of people who are lost and cannot find a way, and warns that the arrogant will one day demand to see the angels — only to be told 'no glad tidings that day for the criminals'.

Drawn fromAl-Wāḥidī, Asbāb al-Nuzūl; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 25:7–9

7

وَقَالُوا۟ مَالِ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّسُولِ يَأْكُلُ ٱلطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشِى فِى ٱلْأَسْوَاقِ ۙ لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ فَيَكُونَ مَعَهُۥ نَذِيرًا

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And they say, "What is this messenger that eats food and walks in the markets? Why was there not sent down to him an angel so he would be with him a warner?

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From the tafsīr

Their objections were never sincere questions but attempts to disqualify him without engaging the message itself — hence Allah's description, 'see how they strike for you comparisons, and thus have gone astray, and cannot find a way.'

Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 25:7–9

Reports on the identity of the objecting chiefs vary and are not established with a reliable chain; what is firmly attested is the substance of the objection as recorded in the āyah itself, not a specific narrated incident naming individuals.

Cited toAl-Wāḥidī, Asbāb al-Nuzūl

Key takeaways

Reflect

What kind of 'sign' would satisfy you if the one already given did not?

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Question 1 of 2

What did Quraysh demand instead of accepting the Prophet's ﷺ humanity, according to 25:7–8?

Question 2 of 2

According to 25:9, what has happened to those who made these comparisons?

THEME 03Āyāt 17–19, 27–29

The Day false gods disown their worshippers

Allah will gather those who were worshipped besides Him and ask them whether they misled their worshippers or the worshippers strayed on their own — and they will disown any responsibility. Every deed of the disbelievers is described as scattered dust. The wrongdoer will bite his hands in regret, wishing he had taken a different path and not made a particular companion his intimate friend, who diverted him from the message after it had reached him.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān on 25:27–29; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 25:17–19

27

وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ ٱلظَّالِمُ عَلَىٰ يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يَـٰلَيْتَنِى ٱتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ ٱلرَّسُولِ سَبِيلًا

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And the Day the wrongdoer will bite on his hands [in regret] he will say, "Oh, I wish I had taken with the Messenger a way.

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From the tafsīr

Those worshipped — whether angels, prophets like ʿĪsā, or idols animated by no will — will testify that they never called anyone to worship them; the worshippers strayed from what they knew was truth, following their own desires.

Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 25:17–19

The 'wrongdoer' of āyah 27 is understood generally, though it was revealed concerning ʿUqbah ibn Abī Muʿayṭ, who nearly embraced Islam but was turned back by his companion Ubayy ibn Khalaf; the biting of hands is a gesture of extreme regret when regret can no longer help.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān on 25:27–29

Key takeaways

Reflect

Whose companionship is currently shaping which direction you walk?

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0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

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Question 1 of 2

What specific regret does the wrongdoer voice in āyāt 27–29?

Question 2 of 2

According to 25:18, how do the worshipped ones respond to Allah's question?

THEME 04Āyāt 45–62

Signs in creation and the fate of past nations

Allah turns attention to the shadow that lengthens and could be fixed but is drawn in gradually, the winds that herald mercy, water sent down to give life to a dead land, and the two seas — one fresh and one salty — kept apart by a barrier. The section closes with the sun and moon set in their courses and night and day made in succession, a sign for whoever wishes to remember or be grateful.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 25:53; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 25:45–50

53

۞ وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى مَرَجَ ٱلْبَحْرَيْنِ هَـٰذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَاتٌ وَهَـٰذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخًا وَحِجْرًا مَّحْجُورًا

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And it is He who has released [simultaneously] the two seas [i.e., bodies of water], one fresh and sweet and one salty and bitter, and He placed between them a barrier and prohibiting partition.

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From the tafsīr

The extension and gradual withdrawal of the shadow, the winds as bearers of glad tidings before rain, and the revival of dead land are all presented as everyday evidences of a Creator who is equally able to revive the dead on the Last Day.

Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 25:45–50

The barzakh (barrier) between the fresh and salty seas is a sign of precise divine arrangement — the two bodies meet yet do not mix in a way that spoils either.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 25:53

Key takeaways

Reflect

Which everyday sign have you stopped noticing because it is familiar?

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Question 1 of 2

Why does the surah mention rain reviving dead land here?

Question 2 of 2

What is described as dividing the fresh water from the salty in āyah 53?

THEME 05Āyāt 63–77

ʿIbād al-Raḥmān: the servants of the Most Merciful

The surah closes with a portrait of the true servants of the Most Merciful: they walk upon the earth with humility, respond to the ignorant with peace, spend the night in prostration and prayer, fear the punishment of Hell, spend moderately between extravagance and stinginess, avoid false testimony and idle talk, and pray for spouses and offspring who are a comfort to the eye, asking to be made leaders for the righteous.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān on 25:67; Ibn Kathīr on 25:70; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 25:63

63

وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلْجَـٰهِلُونَ قَالُوا۟ سَلَـٰمًا

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And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace,

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67

وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَنفَقُوا۟ لَمْ يُسْرِفُوا۟ وَلَمْ يَقْتُرُوا۟ وَكَانَ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ قَوَامًا

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And [they are] those who, when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that, [justly] moderate

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70

إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَـٰلِحًا فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ ٱللَّهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ حَسَنَـٰتٍ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

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Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allāh will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allāh Forgiving and Merciful.

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From the tafsīr

'Walking upon the earth in humility' (hawnan) describes calm dignity, not weakness — a settled character, not a forced pose; when the ignorant address them harshly they respond with peaceable words, not retaliation in kind.

Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 25:63

Their spending is described as neither isrāf (extravagance) nor iqtār (stinginess), but qawāman — a balanced middle standing between the two, applied to wealth as to worship and character generally.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān on 25:67

Repentance (tawbah) followed by belief and righteous action transforms even past sins into good deeds — a mercy that answers the despair someone might feel after a serious wrong.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 25:70

Key takeaways

Reflect

Which single trait among ʿibād al-Raḥmān is furthest from how you currently live?

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Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

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Question 1 of 2

How is the spending of ʿibād al-Raḥmān characterised in āyah 67?

Question 2 of 2

According to 25:63, how do the servants of al-Raḥmān move upon the earth?

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VOCABULARY

Roots from this surah

Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.

ف ر ق

āyāt 1

to separate, to distinguish between two things

  • فُرْقَانthe Criterion, that which distinguishes truth from falsehood
  • فَرَّقَhe separated
  • تَفْرِقَةa distinguishing, a parting
  • فِرْقَةa faction, a separated group

ن ذ ر

āyāt 1, 7, 51, 56

to warn of a coming danger

  • نَذِيرa warner
  • أَنْذَرَhe warned
  • إِنْذَارthe act of warning
  • نَذْرa vow (something one 'warns' oneself to fulfil)

ع ب د

āyāt 1, 17, 18, 55, 63

to worship, to serve as a slave serves a master

  • عَبْدservant, slave
  • عِبَادservants (plural)
  • عِبَادَةworship
  • مَعْبُودthat which is worshipped

ر س ل

āyāt 7, 20, 27

to send, especially a message or messenger

  • رَسُولmessenger
  • أَرْسَلَhe sent
  • مُرْسَلِينthe ones sent, the messengers
  • رِسَالَةa message, an epistle

ح ي ي

āyāt 3, 49

life, to live, to bring to life

  • حَيَاةlife
  • أَحْيَاhe gave life
  • حَىّliving

ر ح م

āyāt 26, 45, 48, 59, 60, 63

mercy, compassion, gentleness

  • ٱلرَّحْمَٰنthe Most Merciful
  • رَحْمَةmercy
  • رَحِيمthe ever-Merciful
  • رَحِمَhe had mercy

ه و ن

āyāt 63

ease, gentleness, humility

  • هَوْنhumility, gentleness
  • هَيِّنeasy
  • أَهْوَنeasier

ت و ب

āyāt 70, 71

to turn back, to repent

  • تَابَhe repented, he turned back
  • تَوْبَةrepentance
  • تَوَّابthe One who accepts repentance repeatedly

Carry this with you

  • The Qur'an's own name for itself here, al-Furqān, defines its task: separating truth from falsehood in every matter, not just supplying information.
  • A messenger's humanity — eating, trading, walking among people — was never a disqualification; every prophet before him shared it.
  • False gods will disown their worshippers on the Day of Judgement; nothing besides Allah can be relied upon to answer for you.
  • Everyday phenomena — shadow, wind, rain, the two seas, night and day — are treated as signs meant to provoke remembrance and gratitude.
  • Companionship shapes destiny: the surah singles out a wrongly-chosen close friend as a source of specific regret on the Last Day.
  • The servants of the Most Merciful are marked by humble bearing, night prayer, financial moderation, and turning away from false and idle speech.
  • Repentance genuinely followed by belief and righteous action can transform even past bad deeds into good ones.
  • Prayer itself is described as the measure of one's worth to Allah — 'What would my Lord care for you if not for your supplication?'

Where this surah connects

Cross-surah threads

Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.

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Sources behind Sūrah Al-Furqān

Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.

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Al-Furqān · Objections to the Messenger: angel, treasure, garden

According to 25:7–8, what alternative proof did Quraysh demand?

Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol